


Leica Spotter

by tecaphe



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Formula E RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Formula One, Dorks, Dorks in Love, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Multiple, Racing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 13:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20725334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tecaphe/pseuds/tecaphe
Summary: With the F1 season starting once again, Andre Lotterer sets out to add to his photography portfolio.The season is long and who knows what will happen?UPDATE: Two new chapters have been added!





	1. Welcome To The Grid

**Author's Note:**

> * This was written on my wattpad under the same name, but I'm transferring it over!
> 
> I do German in school, but I've not done it for like a month so it might be bad. I also worked on this story late nights so... and this story is exceptionally longer than I've ever done. It's basically a mess.
> 
> Also this story is double perspective so;  
// indicates perspective change  
\--- indicates time change  
-/- indicates both

André often worked with other clients for his degree. A photographer wasn't the best career in his parent's eyes, but he still pursued his choice. He loved photography, it was like an area of zen for him. His Leica camera that he recently bought meant that he could do a range of photos with different themes. His love and passion for photography inspired him to share his photos on Instagram under the name: @leicapilot. Usually, most of these photos were wedding photos or romantic couples, but today is the day where he finally branches out to create a wider variety of photos for his portfolio.

He was going to a Formula 1 race.

He intended to spark a new interest in racing, and potentially follow the drivers to create a wider portfolio. It would make his ideas look better, especially for his degree. It was a master plan.

-/-

Jean-Éric Vergne was no quiet champion. He recently won the Formula E title again, so many Formula 1 teams have grabbed the opportunity to bring him back. One of them was Red Bull, a team who dropped him, merely for being too slow against Daniel Ricciardo. However, he's changed, he's won many titles. He's more focused and well driven. This was his opportunity to show that Helmut and Christian were wrong to drop him.

A new season approached and so he waved goodbye to Techeetah, a team who picked him up in 2017, and set off onto a new chapter of his life; being a Formula 1 driver again.

To be back in the paddock felt nostalgic but incredible. He never thought he would be back after what happened with Toro Rosso, but here he was, in a Red Bull outfit. He held a grin on his face, in a mockery to the media. Oh, how he would prove the critics wrong and how he will beat Max Verstappen to the title. That was his aim, and no one can stop him.

//

André set off into the unfamiliar land in Melbourne. It was hot and unsettling to be in a place where he had no clue where he was going. A press pass allowed him into the paddock, but still, there were hundreds of people walking around. Some were in coloured shirts full of writing, others were walking with looks of awe on their face.

A crowd of people stood by a garage taking photos, so he wandered over with a camera in his hand prepared for photos. There stood a guy, an untamed but well kept bearded man with a fair bit of hair. He had a French accent and he seemed confident. Of course, André snapped a few photos, to which in his delight were perfectly shot. He grinned to his new photos on his new Leica.

The man who he took a photo of looked at André and smiled. "Wow," he said. "A Leica camera being used for photography..."  
"Me? Oh- yeah it is. I just got it for my project," André replied with a happy smile. "I hope you don't mind the pictures!"  
"What? Oh- of course not!"

//

Jean-Éric stood in front of his new car that had the number 25 written on the front. He smiled for the press as many photos were being taken. At the front, he noticed a tall man crouched down smiling to himself whilst looking at his camera. "Wow," he thought to himself. "A Leica camera being used for photography..."  
"Me?" the man replied who was gripping his Leica happily. Apparently, he spoke his thoughts out loud. The man crouching down smiled massively as he took another photo.

Once the press was done picturing Jean-Éric, he went back into the garage. He sighed and started going through the debrief with his engineers, ready for the race ahead.

-/-

André carried on snapping photos throughout the paddock but he would never forget that man, Jean-Éric Vergne. He saw the name above his garage after he left for other drivers. He couldn't believe he knew about Leica's.

Time passed by as the sun slowly rose above them. A roar of engines filled the pit lane. He stood by the pit exit snapping photos of all the cars that went by. A black and red car with the number 25 drove by him. The driver gave a wave in his direction, to which he snapped a photo of immediately. Could it really be the same guy, and does he remember him?

By the time the race ends, Jean-Éric was first. A black car rolled up to the number 1 spot in Parc Fermé. André stood by the pen enclosing the cars, taking photos of the driver with their car. The one parked in first jumped out of his car, took his helmet off and roared with happiness. He raced towards his team and jumped. Like clockwork, they all started cheering and patting him on the back shouting "that's how to start the season, JEV!" or "well-done JEV!" André proceeded to capture these moments with a warm feeling. Jean-Éric walks by him for after-race interviews with Paul Di Resta. Upon passing by, he immediately raises a brow, as if he remembered him.

The podium celebration was spectacular to André. His first race he ever was at, was the most fun he'd ever had as a photographer. And seemingly so, a driver remembered him.

When he got back to his hotel room, André uploaded the photos of only Jean-Éric and congratulating him in the caption.

-/-

A few hours had passed since Jean-Éric won his race in Melbourne. His phone was flooded with messages, similar to "congrats!" or "that's how you do it!" He was sick and tired of them by the end after he thanked everyone, but one post caught his eye. Leicapilot. All he could be reminded of was the guy he saw back in the paddock earlier that day.

Within an instant, he checked out the post. There he saw himself waving to a camera at the pit exit. And so it was. It was him. The exact guy he asked about the Leica camera. He had the name "André Lotterer Photo" on his bio of the account. "André Lotterer, huh?" Jean-Éric said to himself. On that post, he replied, "thank you for the photos! Were you the one using the Leica back in the paddock?"

And so began the waiting. He cooked himself some food and face timed his friends back home in France. That's until a notification pops up: "Leicapilot replied to your comment." He excused himself from the call and opened up Instagram. There was the notification. It read, "yes! I am the one you saw holding a Leica camera! Can't believe you remember me! :-) I will be there for the next few races for more photos, hope to see you again!"

Jev thought to himself, "I hope I'll see you again... Andre."


	2. Warmth and Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> News hits Jean-Eric hard, but Andre's there to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the perspective changes:  
// indicates perspective change  
\--- indicates time change  
-/- indicates both

The title fight had been going on for half the season. It was finally the summer break after the race in Hungary which meant an entire 4 weeks of relaxing. He had been getting chummy with André, seeing him for a lot of the races. Sometimes, he'd invite him to the garage when he accepted. Together they became good friends.

On the flight to Hungary, he received two texts: one from André and one from Lorene. André was going to be there in Hungary. Lorene though, it was a different story. It was a harsh but honest breakup message, and that's when it hit him. He had a race to drive, and his girlfriend broke up with him.

When he reached Hungary, André was there waiting for him. Jean-Éric requested if they could go to his hotel, and quick before fans and media surround him. André, confused yet understanding, agrees and helps him carry his stuff to his hotel. Jean-Éric doesn't say a word during the car ride with André. He was heartbroken.

//

André noticed Jean-Éric looked down and unhappy when he arrived in the arrival lounge at the airport. That's when he knew something was off. Jean-Éric asked him to immediately go to his hotel. Of course, André asked no questions and helped him. They both signed into the hotel, placed all their luggage down and sat on the sofa.

There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted for a while. André spoke softly, "Jean-Éric... are you okay?" And that's where he broke into a cry. Uncontrollably crying, whilst trying to explain what happened. He looked André in the eyes, pleading for help with no words. Just emotions.

His phone went off a hundred times a minute, but he cared no more than when he won a race. Daresay he even looked at them. André looked at his phone out of curiosity.

"Meine Güte, was für ein Durcheinander!" André said in a total shock. "Sorry, I meant what a mess!" He read the first few notifications: "JEV broken up?", "Heartbreak in personal life for Jean-Éric Vergne", "Hot mess for JEV!"

That's where André said, "how the shit did they know that!?"   
Jean-Éric simply replied, "it's the media, they know a lot of stuff..."  
"Bunch of fucking idiots invading private matters... I'll fucking kill them..." André mumbled under his breath.

-/-

The race weekend in Hungary went by quickly. Jean-Éric was pressed on personal matters, to which he said: "no comment" to a lot. He lost a lot of focus and concentration that weekend. Barely made it into Q3 on Saturday, and didn't even make it onto the podium for Sunday. All he wanted to do was get back home, away from all the paparazzi. He wanted to be back with André. 

Together, they ordered food from the local Chinese, sat down together. They ate whilst watching Hungarian TV, which made no sense to them. Eventually, André suggested a movie marathon to take his mind off Lorene, to which Jean-Éric gladly said yes.

A few hours passed. Jean-Éric is lying on André's body whilst he's spread out on the sofa. Absentmindedly, André reaches for Jean-Éric's forehead and strokes it gently through into his hair. He looked cute when he slept. He embraced him and fell asleep once more with Jean-Éric in his arms.

//

Jean-Éric woke up at God knows what time. His phone was still on the table, ringing away with notifications. Messages were pouring in and he couldn't stop them. He felt like leaving everything behind. That's until he noticed André wrapping his slightly muscular arms around him. He felt secure in his arms. Jean-Éric held André's hand that was dangling beside him. His hands were soft. Slowly, André's sleeping cradle relaxed the Frenchman, slowly making him fall asleep.

-/-

By the next morning, they were in the same positions, cradling each other. It was at that point André knew that he was falling for him... and hard. He knew it would be bad timing to tell him after what just happened with Lorene, but seeing Jean-Éric holding his hands absentmindedly told him to shoot in the dark.

André sat up, trying not to wake Jean-Éric from his sleep, but with him being 6 foot, it was no easy feat. Jean-Éric woke up slightly mumbling, "huh..? André, what's going on?"  
André's immediate reaction was to go, "shh, mein Schatz... Ich werde dich beschützen. Du musst schlafen. Bitte." He then proceeded to lift the 5'11 man and bring him onto one of the hotel beds. André proceeded to act as if Jean-Éric was a child and tucked him into bed. "Bitte, schlafen, mein Schatz." He kissed him on the forehead and gave a smile. The sleepy Jean-Éric smiled and said, "stay with me?"   
André said with a sympathetic voice, "I would stay with you Jean-Éric, but I've got one thing to take care of, then I'll be right beside you, okay?"  
"As long as you'll be beside me, I'll go nowhere."

André's plan all along was to make him breakfast in bed with his french toast and some coffee. And so, he set off on his plan.

He often went to Jean-Éric's apartment in London, and recently he got a new coffee machine. André knew how to use the machine better than Jean-Éric, so he started attempting at latte art when he wasn't looking. He aimed to create a heart for him as a subtle way of flirting.

With careful dedication and concentration, André swivelled the creamer side by side then did a line straight down the middle. A slightly wonky, but clearly could be told that it was a heart laid in front of his eyes on the counter. Despite the lack of perfection, he was pleased. André let out a little laugh. This was his masterplan: to win Jean-Éric's heart.

//

Jean-Éric could hear a slight laugh from the other room nearby. The sound of rustling plastic and a kettle boiling, he could only assume André was making him something. With footsteps getting louder and louder, he pulled the duvet up and pretended he was sleeping. There was a sound of the tray being set down on the bedside table beside where he was pretending to be asleep.

A soft but harsh voice quietly said, "aww. Mein kleines Schatz ist sehr schön und niedlich. Wie kann Lorene mit dir Schluss machen? Du bist so weich und süß, wenn du schläft. Ich kann sie glauben nicht. Er ist ein sehr weiches Mann... Du bist ziemlich niedlich und sanft."

André gently shook Jean-Éric's shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. A smile from the Frenchie emerged as he saw who stood in front of him, with a tray of toast and a cup of coffee.

André stood beside the bed holding a tray, "Mein Schatz, I've prepared some comfort food for you, because I hate to see you this sad. It's not much but, all I care is that you're safe in my arms, okay?"

"André..." he sat gobsmacked on the bed. "mon amour, you're too kind..!" Jean-Éric gestured the German into his single bed. It was a tight squeeze but they made it work by lying very close to each other.

André had his arm wrapped around Jean-Éric's in a support to keep himself on the bed. As Jean-Éric ate the French toast that André made, he noticed the cup. He gave a sideways glance in his direction, gave a little smirk and scoffed. "You are not subtle, André," he said with laughter.  
"Neither are you," André said in reply.

They both sat in silence for a while, taking reality in, until André finally broke it.

He says with his slight German accent, "fuck... Jean-Éric, I've been falling for you for the entire year. I didn't want to stand in between you and Lorene. This may be too early for you to decide, but always know, ich liebe dich."

"Je t'aime, André," Jean-Éric says immediately without any hesitation. "Without you, I'd be nowhere. My heart has slowly been falling for you and your romantic German." He gave a little pause, then attempted with a heavy French accent, "ich liebe dich, mein Leicapilot."


	3. Anxious and Nervous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The months have come and gone, through Suzuka to the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. The final race in Abu Dhabi has finally arrived at the Formula 1 paddock. André had, what he would describe as, one of the best years of his life. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of the fic written obviously a while after.
> 
> *There is no double POV this time for simplicity's sake.

The months have come and gone, through Suzuka to the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace. The final race in Abu Dhabi has finally arrived at the Formula 1 paddock. André had, what he would describe as, one of the best years of his life. He found a guy who he had the same interests in whilst finding a new passion outside of the romantic couple photography. Together, they had one hell of a year, following each other around whilst in the paddock enjoying themselves. Despite André having a media job, he often stuck around the Red Bull garage where Jean-Éric was. It was basically an excuse to see Jean-Éric because he couldn’t get enough of his god-damn French accent.

* * *

Jean-Éric paced around the hotel room with André who sat on the bed looking a bit concerned. “I’ve got to win, André. I have to win. I just-” Jean-Éric said with a nervous tone in his voice. His hands are slightly shaking from his nerves with a worried face. “I just have to. It’s all down to this, and I just… well you know, I can’t.”

“Jean-Éric, I know you deep down well enough that you can. Mein Schatz, I’ve been here the entire year and I watched you race determined as hell. I can see it in the way you drive. I may not know a lot about racing but by your careful racecraft quite clearly shows me you are definitely capable. I’m proud of where you came this year and I’m proud no matter what result Abu Dhabi is,” André softly said with a careful but heartfelt tone.

“Fucking hell André,” Jean-Éric sighed. “I appreciate it so darn much, but I’m just… well, nervous. It’s a big race here… the whole world is watching me race for this championship, which I could quite clearly lose here at the final race. It’s just nervewracking.”

“Aww mein Schatz… No matter what result you get, I will be here by the pit wall with Christian celebrating every moment. I, of course, want you to win and I will be there by your side at every moment, okay? I promise you that very much.”

Jean-Éric went to embrace the slightly flexed out arms of André, whilst trembling. André held back in return with a strong grip. He knew everything was down to this one race and it meant the world to Jean-Éric. The least he could do was be supportive of every move that he did and that was the promise he kept til the very end.

“Je t’aime André, I don’t know what I would do without you sometimes…” Jean-Éric said muffled in André’s shoulder.

“Ich liebe dich, Jean-Éric. The least I can do is be here for you, okay?”

André guided the Frenchman towards the bedside to sit on. Jean-Éric sat there looking a bit lost whilst looking at the German.

“Stay there. I want to do something for you,” the German teased.

Jean-Éric sat there on his phone, still shaking away whilst waiting for what André had planned for him. 

A few clicks and clacks echoed away in the hotel room with a kettle boiling away. What André had planned was to make him another coffee like he did back in Hungary. This time he had more experience after owning a coffee machine himself in his own apartment back at home. A few left and right motions of the creamer went into the cup. A final flick down the middle finished the artwork that was confined to the coffee cup.

André walked nervously towards Jean-Éric, holding the cup delicately to make sure the art wouldn’t be ruined. “Here, you’ll need this.”Jean-Éric graciously accepted the cup from André with a smile, though still kept shaking from the upcoming event.

  
“Here, let me help,” André said laughing. He took the cup off of Jean-Éric, with his hand gliding past his, giving slight butterflies in his stomach as he did so. He held the cup up to Jean-Éric’s mouth, making sure he didn’t burn said man’s lips. Jean-Éric reached for the small cup to make sure the coffee didn’t go everywhere. At the same time, he accidentally put his hands on top of the German’s. A feeling of heat ran through his cheeks as he drank. Both became a nervous wreck in the presence of each other. Together, with the help of André, Jean-Éric finished the coffee.

“You’re so cute sometimes André,” Jean-Éric admitted.

“Only sometimes?” André questioned with a half-stifled laugh.   
“You know what I meant… you idiot.”

“I’m only teasing, ‘you idiot’”

“Oh, shut up.”

* * *

Together, they stood on the grid of the final race in Abu Dhabi. The starry-lit sky shone down to the Yas Marina circuit. André, of course, holding his Leica in hand taking many photos of the grid, but mainly focusing on his all-time favourite, Jean-Éric Vergne. Ever since that day back in Australia, he could never get his camera away from the stunning black and red car of the Red Bull Racing team. 

He got Jean-Éric to stand in front of his car posing away with the car right behind him: the excuse being “for my portfolio.” “Perfect,” he said whilst snapping a picture. “Perfect, like always.” 

The engineers shouted, “formation lap. Ready to take the tyre warmers off?” Jean-Éric clambered into the cockpit of his darkly coloured car. He waved to André, similar to back in Melbourne, and again André snapping a photo of the occurrence. 

André runs back towards the garage of the Red Bull area, to which he gained access to as Jean-Éric’s VIP guest. He sat beside some pit mechanics and near where Christian Horner sat. He had a good view of the pit lane and the screens. “This is it,” thought André. “The final race of the year.” In all honesty, André was going to miss the Formula 1 paddock. He couldn’t do this for a living, despite wishing to, as he had a university degree to get, but he had to be there for Jean-Éric’s final race of the season. 


	4. It's Lights Out and Away We Go

The familiar sounds rang out during the lights countdown. 

“And it’s lights out and away we go! Vergne gets a good start down the side of Verstappen into turn one! And ooh… Vergne manages to get a damaged front wing… and so does Verstappen! Both of the championship contenders are going to have to pit! This is going to be exciting,” shouted David Croft down the microphone, that echoed through the grandstands.

André couldn’t bear to watch much of the race. His inner feelings were all jumbled. He felt so bad for Jean-Éric, as he knew how much this race and championship was to him. All he could do was sit there and hope that he can climb back up the order once more. 

“Verstappen seems to be ahead of Vergne. He’ll be pitting first, maybe with a set of hards instead of the mediums which he qualified on. Vergne will follow suit behind him, as it looks like they have a fifteen-second gap between them.”

The sounds of pneumatic guns fired during the seconds Jean-Éric sat stationary. A screech of the wheels left the viewers in awe. 

“That was a speedy stop despite the front wing change. Vergne is back out there. He’s going to have to unleash his inner bull to get back in contention for the championship!”

Laps and laps went by, with Jean-Éric charging through the field. He had determination in his eyes and winning in his mind. This was his main aim.

“The Red Bulls, despite the first lap collision, are dominating through the field! They both have the Mercedes to catch up to and the win is theirs!”

“Valtteri, it’s James. Can you let Lewis by? Repeat, can you let Lewis by?” - “Oh dear, it seems like they are switching drivers yet they have a three-second gap between them and some charging Red Bulls near them.”

“It seems like the switch gave away their pace meaning Verstappen and Vergne are gaining and gaining every lap! This might be their chance.”

“Oh man, what a dive that was from Verstappen on Hamilton. He has now managed to gain the lead somehow with a collision back in lap one with Vergne. The other Bull is yet to pass, though he got past Bottas.”

“Is that a send into turn one? Oh yes, it is! A wonderful dive from Vergne, braking later than the Brit, allowing him to get past. That means this is a Red Bull 1-2 right now. With only two laps to go, I’m doubting Vergne can get past Verstappen unless he’s still got some life left in his tyres.”

The chequered flag was waved right in front of Jean-Éric as he crossed the line, with Verstappen insight.

“Fuuuuuuuuuckkk… Ugh! I can’t believe it, that fucking idiot crashed into me into turn one! Bullshit and now he’s won the championship,” Jean-Éric said to Pascal his engineer.

“Foul play from him, don’t worry JEV. FIA has been looking into the incident and the result is bound to happen soon.”

“It’s fucking bullshit, he turned right into me. He knew where I was from his mirror, I don’t see why he needed to you know?”

“Calm down JEV… The race director is typing.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just frustrated because this isn’t how I wanted it to end.”

Quietness followed after his comment until Pascal came onto the radio going, “penalty for Verstappen meaning… Tu es le champion du monde!”

“Oh merde..! I can’t believe it. I can’t fucking believe it!”

The familiar German accent came onto the radio, “yesss! Congratulations Jean-Éric! I’m so proud of you!”

“Thank you for my continued belief in me, André! Yeeees! Thank you team for all the hard work. This is for you!”

* * *

After a few doughnuts on the pit straight with Verstappen and Hamilton alongside, he finally drove his car into Parc Fermé, right into the ‘World Champion’ slot. He clambered out of his car using the halo, then did a massive leap into the air screaming. 

Jean-Éric leapt towards the Red Bull guys. All of them attempted to pat the back of their newly crowned driver. However, one figure stood out the most. A white plain smart shirt holding a small black Leica camera. André captured every moment since Jean-Éric leapt out of the car and here he was, snapping a really close picture of the man who just won. Jean-Éric smiled away as he kept snapping photos. He then took the camera off of the German, held it like he was taking a selfie of themselves and pressed the camera button, snapping the moment together. 

“Thanks for everything this year, André. To many more years, yeah?”

“Of course, now go out there and make me proud.”

* * *

The French and Austrian anthem played out on the podium, to which Jean-Éric sang the French one proudly. 

“The champaaagne!!” the speakers bellowed out. A spray of champagne went everywhere during the celebration.

This feeling as all too familiar to André. It was like deja vu once again like the first time they met back in Melbourne for race one. He noticed Jean-Éric looking right at him before turning around and spraying Verstappen in the face with the bottle. André couldn’t help but smile as he took photos of him. It was a proud moment of André’s and it was one to remember forever.

* * *

André grabbed Jean-Éric a while after the celebrations from the media pen. He was wanted by everyone but with his media pass, he just about got away with stealing Jean-Éric away. Jean-Éric wanted to get away from the PR mess that he is involved in, therefore dragging the German with him in a taxi back to their shared hotel room. 

Together they stood in the hallway, back where Jean-Éric was stressing around back before the race.

“Mein Schatz, du bist Weltmeister! Ich bin sehr glücklich..! Oh mein Schatz!” André kept repeating. He was somehow way more excited about the championship than the Frenchman himself.

“Knock it off, will you? You’re being way too adorable for my likings, André,” he laughed at the German’s eagerness.

“Okay, okay. I want to ask one question though.”

“What?”

The German grabbed the French’s hands, both in each other’s. André looked at Jean-Éric’s eyes directly. He began, “We’ve gone through everything together, from the start of the year to now. So… Ich liebe dich. Je t’aime. I love you… I can picture us together, so… will you be my Leica?”

A stifled laugh was let out of the Frenchman, before going, “yes, yes, yes!” He embraced the German, before repeating as once said in Hungary, though significantly better, “ich liebe dich mein Leicapilot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my updated version of Leica Spotter. I love these new chapters! I'm accepting any requests of the F1/FE paddock as well!


End file.
